Finally a Doctor!

When Dave and I first met in 2002, he was a year into his PhD program at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh.  I was so impressed that he attended CMU (and still am!), and have always been proud of everything he accomplishes.

I am most proud of him as I write this today! After finishing his Master’s thesis a few years into our relationship, he was charging ahead toward finishing his PhD. In between all that, we got engaged, married and moved halfway across the world, but being Dr. Dave was always his final goal, and I did everything I could to support him in his journey.

This past August, he was finally able to complete his goal of finishing his PhD in Philosophy! While we were on holiday in Scotland, Dave was still hard at work, finishing up a draft to send to his committee so he could defend in August before classes started.  It was a total whirlwind! We were home from  Scotland for a week, and once we got the definite confirmation date for his defense, we booked tickets back to the States.

We were there for a week, and he defended on Friday August 20th. While it was a super stressful week for him, it all ended well! He practiced with his committee, and perfected his PowerPoint slides, and did everything he could possibly do, until it was time!

We woke up early Friday morning of the defense, and headed to CMU so he could get all set up in the room.  Then we just had to wait! Finally, his committee arrived, as well as many friends and other faculty, and it was time to begin!  I was a little nervous for Dave, but he was amazing!  His presentation was smooth and flowed well, and he presented the important arguments of his dissertation.

After he presented, his committee asked him some questions to make sure he knew his stuff, and again, while I was nervous, Dave was great at answering the questions and giving examples for his answers!  His committee seemed pleased with the answers, and then opened the questions to the floor.  After that, everyone had to leave while they deliberated about their decision.

While waiting for the answer, we hung out with friends, and opened a 40 year old bottle of Scotch that we bought in DC over the inaugural weekend.  We were happy to find out that it was a distillery we had visited in Scotland! Here’s a picture of the 40 year old Scotch we celebrated with!

While the wait felt like forever, it was probably only about 10 or 15 minutes. Dave’s advisor came over, and said Congratulations Dr. Gray! Everyone was so happy, and began to congratulate Dave, and then we socialized for a bit, while Dave spoke with his advisors, and got some things taken care of. When he returned, we discovered he had no revisions (This is huge deal!), so he was certified as a PhD right away! It’s possible he’ll walk next May for CMU’s graduation 🙂

Sadly, because we were driving to DC the same day, we had time for a quick martini lunch at Joe Mama’s in Oakland with a bunch of our friends. It was so much fun, and my amazing, handsome husband looked so relieved and happy!

Although there were no martinis for me, since I was driving 4 hours to DC, I am glad Dave was able to have a drink and celebrate with friends! It was a day we have both been waiting for!

Congrats again Dave! I love you so much, and never once doubted that you would finish your PhD. I believe in you, and all you have accomplished! I am glad I get to spend every day of my life with you 🙂